Frostbitten &Mutilated
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Frostbitten &Mutilated Zak Smith Sample file Frostbitten & Mutilated Writing and art by Zak Smith Editing by Joshua Blackketter Design by Luka Rejec LFP0047 Text and Art ©2018 Zak Smith Issued under exclusive license to: www.lotfp.com ISBN Print: 978-952-7238-02-8 ISBN PDF: 978-952-7238-03-5 Printed in Finland by Otava Book Printing, Ltd. First Printing: 5000 copies LamentationsSample of the Flame Princess file is a registered trademark owned by James Edward Raggi IV Dedication On page 27 of the first D&D book’s first volume there appears an illustration of two creatures—”Beautiful Witch” (left) and “Amazon” (right)—drawn by one Cookie Corey. They are, true to that volume’s subtitle (“Men & Magic”), not described anywhere in the text. The image therefore represents not only the first work done by a woman in RPGs and the first female characters published in an RPG but also the first hack of an RPG. So: this one is for Cookie Corey. Zak Smith, 2017 Sample file Note on the appropriation of traditional Nordic cultures This book woefully misrepresents Norse culture. I mean—probably it does, it has monsters I made up in it—I don’t know I’m Jewish. Anyway, enjoy. Sample file “Outside in the cold night the wind moaned and died down, like an idiot in an icy black pit.” -Richard Wright, Native Son Sample file Table of Contents How to use this book . 9 Drowning Demons . 41 Some advice for the referee . 10 Frost Giants of the Hatemountain . 42 Recommended . 11 Goat . 44 Map of the Devoured Land . 12 Horses . 45 Adventures in the Devoured Land . 13 King Ovv . 46 Getting there . 14 Misshaped Animals . 47 The Necrobutcher . 48 Inhabitants . 15 Nidhoggr . 50 Amazons . 16 The Noctambulant . 52 The Frostbitten Moons . 18 Owls . 54 The Maggot Sisterhood . 22 Pearlholders . 56 The Thirteen . 24 The Plaguewielder . 58 The Ulvenbrigad . 26 Ratatoskr . 60 Animals in General . 30 Rats . 61 Arctic Foxes . 31 Serpents . 62 Arsonists . 32 Snakkur . 63 Avalanche . 34 Snow Leopards . 64 Belphegor . 35 Trolls . 66 Bjära . 36 Werewolves . 70 Boars . 37 Witch Sisters Three . 72 Crows . 38 Wolves . 76 DogsSample . 40 Worms . file. 78 Calendar and Map . 79 How to Make a Events . 80 Wilderness Sandbox .121 The Map . 82 Locations . 84 Random Tables . 123 Adventure Elements . 124 The Dim Fortress . 91 Adventure Locations . 126 Map . 92 Amazon Divination Games . 128 Locations . 94 Amazon Tribes, New . 130 Breaking Curses . 132 Sevenfold Tower . 96 Confrontations . 132 Maps . 99 Deformations of the Misshaping Pool 133 I Search the Body . 134 Character classes, spells, If You Look Closely . 135 substances, and survival Injuries . 136 skills . 101 Random Encounters . 138 Amazon Warriors . 102 Rival NPC Parties . 140 Witches as Player Characters . 106 Witch Spells of the Devoured Land . .112 Index . 141 New Substances . 118 SurvivalSample Skills in the Devoured Land 119 Endpapers . file. 145 THE GODS FROZE SOUNDS— pered into one in each one making words—and set the hundred thousand right ears, creatures working, to cut saying “Twenty-one words languages from the ice . A are poison, but I know not troll was set to grinding and which . Take no sense from was resentful, despising all the tongues of men . Go now improvement . The grinding uncorrupted ”. troll worked, but poisoned twenty-one words in every When women were assem- tongue—so they would work bled, one in one hundred a mischief in the mouths of thousand were given these men and bring them to ruin . ears and this mark—that they would be made weary by the The She-Goat knew what the speech of men, and avoid it . gods did not, and sought They dwell now alone in the to thwart the grinding-troll . long cold crawling—heeding She went to the Place of the no-one . Ears of Women and whis- Sample file 8 How to use this book This book basically has three parts: † tools and toys to help you make adventures featuring extremely metal things like warrior women, frost giants, and apocalyptic monsters † a specific setting (The Devoured Land) with specific places in it and maps and specific people and monsters that want specific stuff that you can use if you want † a calendar of events that begins when the party arrives in The Devoured Land and which will move forward if the party doesn’t do anything about them …you should be able to use all-, most-, or some of these parts without anything bad happening. However, I don’t recommend using none of them—I mean I don’t know your situa- tion personally but probably if you do that your game will suck and you’ll die weeping on a pile of rags, universally despised. Sample file 9 Some advice for the Referee Get the right music. Then, before you run of their face, their many ways, their words. the game, create the quietest, darkest situation Give it some time there. Know that you are you can. human, that to despise is human and what is Sit without moving, with your finger resting common to your kind is natural. It is of nature. lightly on the music button—whichever it is: Knowing this hate, knowing this unity, know play, enter, the click, the rightward arrow. this too: this is how the landscape feels about Think of an empty landscape—only the drag your players’ characters. This is it how it views of a flatlining horizon separates white sky from their trespass, the formlessness of the way they white earth. There is one thing: a lone thin slather themselves across itself. Their steps set black tree, bare, reaching like a python. It is a the entire cold world to seething. It needs, and distant but clear shape. seeks, their downfall. By force and by calcula- Imagine it. Imagine it and hear your own tion. By means known and as yet unknown. It breath. In and then out again. Touch the will devise methods. This is nature: it will inno- button. vate to extend the reach of its hate. There’s a second silhouette that emerges Turn the light back on, your players are com- beneath and it is the silhouette of the worst per- ing—but look at your hand and make a claw, son you know. Imagine, summon and indulge then from the claw make a fist. Hold what you real emotion—a person for whom you feel (not have learned there in that fist. Keep it away— believe you should feel—but feel) total enmity, these are, after all, your friends. It is important total opposition—and if you subscribe to a to have allies in this life and you owe them all philosophy whereby these emotions are to be you can spare—you owe them all the warmth in suppressed, put away that philosophy now. It is the world. Give them snacks—give them what- given to you to know that for this foe there is no ever will please them most, tell them jokes. For- hope of reform and no other life where punish- tify them against less merciful futures. ment will be administered. They stand, seeing But when you are at play and must play the you as you see them. cold world described in this book and its mani- In the sound and the dark, totally experience festations, you now know its heart. You hold it yourSample hatred of them, the heat of it, the hatred quietly in one hand, and mayfile consult it. 10 Recommended Read these: The Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur 1916 trans- lation of the Gylfaginning in Snorri Sturlson’s Younger Edda is a good place to start—that’s where you can read about how they made the sky out of a rime-giant’s skull and whatnot. The rest of the Eddas are recommended by anyone who writes an RPG book with viking stuff in it. Fritz Leiber’s The Snow Women is the best Fafhrd and Grey Mouser short story and one of the best short stories period and one of the best things period. So read it even if you don’t ever play a game again. Walt Simonson’s Thor issues 337-367 and 380, the all-full-page-art issue where Thor fights the Midgard Serpent. Mallory Ortberg’s Early Signs of Pregnancy. Maybe this: I have very dim memories of being read Ste- ven Bauer’s novel Satyrday as a child and it probably influenced my treatment of animals here. I almost gave the moon stats. Listen to this: For True Norwegian Black Metal, Immortal is my favorite, and “All Shall Fall” is the maximum dose. For the Amazons themselves the soundtrack is Thorr’s Hammer, Jex Thoth, Kylesa, and 13 (the 13 that did “Whore” “Hollow” and “Writhe”). Svartsinn is good to have on in dungeons andSample Wolves in the Throne Room is good file everywhere else. 11 See pages 82–83. Sample file 12 Adventures in the Devoured Land Sometimes the snow will not stop. Under its Gold particled screen like layers of veil that would Something plunders those caravans that make of the world a bride to an unknown, vast never come back. Some say there are greedy and unseen groom all civilization is wonder- frost giants with great hoards, but some say ing from its hearths and stone corners: What this is a lie told by cowards to disguise having is to be done about the women? They spit and fled frightened from armed women. rage, they drown the taxmen, they hack the bellies of snakes and eat what they find, they Anarchy abort babies and squeeze their milk into the The lawless Devoured Land is a place for a bellies of troll-cats, they dwell apart among party to hide if they are fugitives and a place the wide white peaks, raiding, scheming, for them to scour if they are in pursuit of one.